More than 200 scientists and engineers work in the Q.CELLS research centre on developing our technology as quickly as possible. Our target: to make photovoltaics more affordable and therefore more competitive. The close interlocking of research, development and production in the Solar Valley, Thalheim enables Q.CELLS to quickly transfer innovations to mass production. This secures our technological pole position in the photovoltaics industry.

Our current activities include projects designed to raise efficiency and cut costs. We develop solar cells from inexpensive UMG (upgraded metallurgical) silicon. And we are working on ultra-high efficiency cells, back-contact solar cells, and the improved passivation and contacting of mono- and polycrystalline solar cells. Our findings are directly translated into production – for and with our partners.

One successful example of this ongoing basic research is new standards for solar cells that wouldn't exist without us. Developing new cell concepts is one of Q.CELLS' hallmarks. We work hard to increase throughput, optimise formats, improve quality, reduce the consumption of resources, and boost efficiency.

Strict quality control is an integral part of production – to ensure we meet our customers' high requirements. The advances made at Q.CELLS benefit everyone: our company, the environment – and of course our partners.

Our integration process

New starters at a company usually have many questions. How to get to the canteen or the shuttle timetable are quickly explained. Other questions are more complicated: where do we come from? Where are we today? Where do we want to go?

Our Q-Day, organised once a quarter, gives the answers. At this event, employees present important processes in the company. Thus, Q-Day promotes discourse between employees. Our management also supports the introduction process. They create an introduction plan, explain the most important guidelines in the workplace and appoint a mentor for the new employee. They are at hand for the first six months, answering questions, explaining processes and giving tips. Thus you quickly become a real member of the Q.CELLS world.

The Q.CELLS Training center

We develop the ambitions of our employees. Dynamic market requirements and new forms of work set us new challenges on a daily basis. Our program of in-house developed further training programs help our employees to successfully overcome these changes. This means we strengthen our own competitiveness, secure long-term competitive advantages that are hard to imitate, enhance our internal know-how and promote individual development opportunities.

Our career paths

Other than the classic management career path, we also offer alternative career opportunities:

The "Expert Career" is an alternative career opportunity to the management career path. Specialists are needed in areas with complex requirements in order to push innovative ideas forward and to focus on matters that are important for the success of the company. With the Expert Career, we want to more fully incorporate our high level of technical know-how, which is a significant success factor within the organisation.

Offering various career paths accompanies the systematic development of employees’ competence, which in turn leads to increased productivity with a measurable value contribution for the company.

A further objective is the systematic qualification of employees to increasingly lead more complex projects.

Our employees should always feel at ease. At our headquarter, we have the programmes and courses of our HERQULES health service:

• Health courses (‘Back Fit’ and Pilates, amongst others)
• Health check (with the company doctor or with external experts)
• Health seminars on topics such as nutrition and coping with stress
• ‘Fit for Future’, our programme for trainees
• Participation in sporting events (also as a team), such as the Goitzsche Marathon, dragon boat races, city races (Leipzig, Berlin)

Of course, there will also be an attractive salary: Q.CELLS uses the Global Grading – an internationally oriented, standardised remuneration system. Every grade is based on a salary level that is oriented on appropriate market wages and salaries. In each of the various remuneration groups there is a starting salary and numerous salary increase possibilities.

At the end of 2010, the city of Sandersforf-Brehna and Q.CELLS inaugurated the “Glückspilz” day-care centre. The new day-care centre was sophisticatedly and lovingly designed both inside and out. Children have a great number of opportunities to play, learn and experiment. There is a children’s kitchen, a “mudroom” and much more. A significant part of the pedagogical concept is, amongst others, integration. As such, the entire installation has been equipped for the disabled. Every group room has a separate terrace that leads to a large and attractively designed garden. Full day catering will guarantee a balanced and healthy diet.

The new installation combined two significant aspects of childcare. Children need a loving, appealing and supportive environment while parents need a reliable and competent team of educators and adequate care hours. Both aspects were considered in the concept from the beginning. So, for example, the opening hours are adapted to the needs of the shift operation at Q.CELLS.

As a regional solar company, we supplied the 21 KW photovoltaic system installed on the roof. The power produced is fed directly into the public grid.

A shuttle service from and to the Bitterfeld-Wolfen and Wolfen train stations provides convenience throughout the working day. This means that our headquarters in the Solar Valley can be reached by rail, thus ensuring convenience and eco-friendliness, including for employees living further afield, such as in Leipzig, Halle, Dessau, Berlin or Dresden.

We're delighted that our canteen has been awarded the JOB & FIT certificate by the DGE German Nutrition Society. This certificate is presented to canteens which have been audited and found to meet high quality standards in terms of foodstuffs, meal planning and preparation, and the atmosphere in the company restaurant.

Laundry service

An important meeting next week, washing machine bust and no clean shirt in the wardrobe? Don’t panic! That’s what the Q.CELLS laundry service is for. Every week, our employees can deliver their laundry on site and get it back freshly cleaned a week later. Clean shirt, meeting saved!

Massage Service

Time for a quick break. Relax in attractive surroundings. This is the Q.CELLS massage service in Thalheim. The qualified employees of a physiotherapy practice provide massages 5 days a week, from classic to hot stone massages.

Plant bicycles

A plant site can be quite large. This becomes noticeable when you have to cover many or long distances on foot. But Q.CELLS has a solution for this too: our plant bicycles. Every employee in Thalheim can pick up a free bike at any time and cycle from A to B without having to rush. Documents and notebooks can simply be taken along in the basket.

The largest city in Saxony is as cosmopolitan as Q.CELLS and is inspiring with an animated mixture: historical buildings directly next door to modern cafes and trendy bars, countless events around the year. In and around Leipzig there is a green belt in the middle of the major city, unique to Europe, one of the largest connecting floodplain forests. No wonder then that Leipzig came third in an EU questionnaire on the quality of life across Europe – ahead of Paris, Rome, London, Vienna, Hamburg and Munich.

• Distance from Q.CELLS: 48 km
• Best connection: train, approx. 28 min
• Population: approx. 500,000
• Area: approx. 297 km²

www.leipzig.de

Further information on Q.CELLS and the region around the headquarters can be found in the REGJO Magazine.

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Live in the middle of nature and experience urban life: In the past few years a lot has changed. Small cafes and modern living space fill the picture. Get your sailing licence at the weekend or just relax? At Goitzschesee there is a large local recreation area with many sport and leisure opportunities and a perfect transport connection. Even the train ride to our capital city office in Berlin only takes an hour.

• Distance from Q.CELLS: 3 km
• Best connection: walk, bike, car
• Population: approx. 46,500
• Area: approx. 79 km²

www.bitterfeld-wolfen.de

Further information on Q.CELLS and the region around the headquarters can be found in the REGJO Magazine.

Download as a PDF (4,87 MB)

Halle is a stronghold of culture. The birthplace of Georg Friedrich Handel has not one, but two romantic castles – but with many young people and one of the oldest German universities. Work out at the Saalestrand or meet up with friends in bars and pubs: Here you will always find a balance for the everyday working life.

• Distance from Q.CELLS: 35 km
• Best connection: train, approx. 24 min.
• Population: approx. 235,000
• Area: approx. 135 km²

www.halle.de

Furthe information on Q.CELLS and the region around the headquarters can be found in the REGJO Magazine.

Download as a PDF (4,87 MB)

Good ideas are not just found at Q.CELLS but also in Dessau-Roßlau: As one of the first universities for creativity, the Bauhaus brought together the most outstanding architects and artists of its time around one hundred years ago. Generous parks, gardens and ponds create a friendly atmosphere. Culturally the city also has a great deal to offer: theatres, cinemas, cafes and many events await you.

• Distance from Q.CELLS: 28 km
• Best connection: train, approx. 28 min
• Population: approx. 77,000
• Area: approx. 182km²

www.dessau-rosslau.de

Furthe information on Q.CELLS and the region around the headquarters can be found in the REGJO Magazine.

Download as a PDF (4,87 MB) 

Everything comes together here. The capital city is a melting pot of culture, gastronomy, business ideas, young and old. Museums and opera houses directly next to street musicians, young galleries next to international trade fairs. Round off the day at the riverside beer garden on the Spree, directly opposite the Chancellery. A continuous stream of new offers make every evening and every weekend exciting. And thanks to many woods, parks and lakes you can reach a green area from any point in the city within a quarter of an hour.

• Distance from Q.CELLS: 126 km
• Best connection: train, approx. 58 min.
• Population: approx. 3.4 m
• Area: approx. 591 km²

www.berlin.de